By WILSON RING

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) _ The federal government is helping to teach kids the basics of cybersecurity by offering more than 40 expenses-paid camps across the country this summer.

At Vermont’s Norwich University, 20 high school students will build computers they’ll be able to take home. At Dakota State University in South Dakota, about 200 students will learn about programming.

In Southern California, 250 middle school Girl Scouts will be given tiny computers, the opportunity to fly drones and earn special patches.

The camps are part of a program called GenCyber. It’s being funded by the National Science Foundation and National Security Agency. The agencies are taking the long view in fulfilling a need for cybersecurity experts, both in government and private industry.

They’re teaching children about the threats that can be found online, as well the basics of computer security and ensure they don’t misuse the information they are collecting.